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EAZA News 43 – 2003 22 July - August - September The sea lion beach at Chester Zoo by Mark Pilgrim, Alan Woodward, David Hall, Simon Marsh, Helen Wright and Laura Kelly, Chester Zoo, United Kingdom The California sea lion ( Zalophus californianus) exhibit at Chester Zoo has always been popular with visitors and is one of our oldest exhibits. Little had changed in the exhibit since 1971, except the addition of a house and waterfall in 1984. An increase in young active sea lions, and hopefully more on the way, expedited redevelopment of the enclosure to create an aesthetically pleasing exhibit with a tropical beach theme and to allow training of the sea lions for physical examinations and minor veterinary procedures. The original sea lion exhibit included a number of features that worked very well, including a large separation area, and two large pools, allowing one to remain full while the other was emptied for cleaning. We therefore kept the original pools when we completely revamped the enclosure because it was old and had insufficient land area for training. To create the needed land space we incorporated the area that had been the public pathway at the back of the exhibit into the beach area. This additionally prevents the public from viewing the sea lions from all sides, and we feel that this added privacy has improved their welfare. The oldfashioned metal hooped bar barrier was replaced with a wood and glass barrier mimicking wooden wave breakers, adding to the maritime theme. A single strand of electric fence keeps the sea lions from approaching the barrier. All pipe work and mechanical parts of the enclosure have been disguised with artificial rock work. The beach has areas where large palms and ferns have been planted, giving a tropical beach feel. New Enclosures Photos: Chester Zoo The extra space enables each sea lion to have its own ‘station’ for sitting on the beach, and the public has a great view. The separation area is a quiet space where the sea lions can be trained individually if necessary, and where the veterinary team can treat injured or sick animals. The addition of a separate pupping pool is a real bonus as it provides a safe and quiet area for the mother to give birth and raise her pup until it is old enough to swim in the main pool. The female still has access to the main pool via a special gate that only she can negotiate. This allows her to be mated a few days after parturition, as would occur in the wild. The keeping staff and vets are able to check on the mother and her pup without interference by other sea lions. The pool can also be used as a recuperation area for sick animals, and can be filled with saline or other aqueous drugs, as it is entirely separate from the main pool. We carry out the three daily feeds from the beach area and perform routine health checks on young sea lions. These health checks on the eyes, teeth, flippers and body for wounds or signs of infection alert us to any medical problems. The sea lions allow these inspections because of the trust and mutual respect built up during the training sessions. We do not train our sea lions to perform ‘tricks’ but teach the animals to allow contact and respond to basic hand and voice signals such as ‘open your mouth’ and ‘lie down’. These signals are demonstrated to the public during daily talks given by the zoo’s team of presenters. We use only positive reenforcement during training, for example a sea lion is rewarded with a treat of fish when it does something correctly but is not reprimanded if it is incorrect. This way we hope that the training can also be fun for the sea lions. The exhibit has progressed from being out-dated and merely adequate for the sea lions’ needs, to becoming a high standard exhibit in keeping with the rest of the zoo. This is also reflected in the improved interpretation around the enclosure, educating the public about these fascinating creatures. We hope that in the future we will have plenty of use for our pupping pool and that all the medical training will rarely need to be put into practice.
KTropical house in Riga Zoo by Guna Vitola, Ilona Roma, Ilze Dunce and Daiga Leimane, Riga Zoo, Latvia The Tropical house, a large indoor exhibition (1,181 m2 ), opened in Riga Zoo in May 2001.The project is the result of painstaking cooperation between administration, curators, gardeners, educators, designers, builders and tough financial compromises. Sixty plant and seventy animal species are exhibited in five different zones: the Tunnel, Central hall, Amphibian hall, Cave of Insects and Nocturnal hall. Some € 1,354.000 or approximately 70% of the annual budget was spent building the Tropical house, but with exciting results: the number of visitors increased by 15% with a substantial increase in Autumn and Winter visitors. Tunnel The first animals encountered in the tunnel are black lemurs (Eulemur macaco macaco). Their exhibit is the context for educational graphics about tropical rainforest, placed on the opposite wall of the tunnel. Two other primate species (Callithrix pygmaea and Callithrix jachus) are housed at the end of the tunnel. All the exhibits have a large window, artificial rocks, deep substrate, plants and furnishings. Central hall The Central hall is devoted to flora and reptiles of southeast Asia. Interesting species exhibited include prehensile-tailed skinks (Corucia zebrata), Asian water dragons (Physignathus cocincinus) and blood python (Python curtus). The designing process was a challenging task. The supports are designed as trees twined by Tetrastigma, and the walls are artificial rocks. A small waterfall introduces visitors to a tropical walk. Turtles (Pelochelys cantorii, Cyclemis dentata, Geoemyda yuwonai, Siebenrockiella crassicollis, Chelodina siebenrocki and Cuora amboinensis), a single and very old Mississippi alligator (Alligator mississipiensis; in Riga Zoo since April 1935) and four false gharials (Tomistoma schlegeli) are exhibited in four water pools along the route. Complex technical features have been installed to regulate climatic conditions, water circulation and a watering system for plants. Amphibian hall This hall is designed to display the variety of colours and shapes as well as the different habits and behaviours of amphibians. This proved difficult as most species are nocturnal. The solution was to create conditions simulating the breeding season and to keep at least two groups of animals of each species. While one group is exhibited, the other group has New Enclosures a resting period, although this does not work perfectly with all species. As a result visitors can view species in amplexus, possibly even laying of eggs, and development of eggs and tadpoles. The terrariums have geographic themes and are of different sizes and shapes (such as tree trunks and cliffs). Viewing of burrowing species (Ceratophrys ornata and Dyscophus guinetti) was initially difficult, however now clay is used as a substratum and the frogs can make burrows but cannot cover themselves completely. The plants are on the ‘second floor’, so that frogs can not reach them and dig them out. Another problem was that the layer protecting the artificial interior against water damage was too slippery for tree frogs to climb, but now the frogs climb the cliffs instead. Cave of Insects The Cave of Insects displays more than twenty species of invertebrates. The most popular exhibit is the leaf-cutting ant exhibit that consists of two terrariums: the nest and the tropical forest. The nest is displayed behind glass, so that the ants’ work on the nest is shown. Leaves are placed on the ‘tropical island’ located three metres from the nest. The island and the nest are connected by an artificial liana, which is continuously covered by busy ants that go back and forth to the island to get the leaves. Nocturnal hall This hall contains eleven exhibits with five invertebrate and two amphibian terrariums, one night aquarium and nocturnal mammals. Fourteen mammal species from different continents are exhibited, of which seven are managed in European breeding programmes. Three terrariums with nocturnal insects are displayed under red lamps and two exhibits display the interesting fluoresce of scorpions in UV light. Our special acknowledgments go to all our colleagues in Burgers’ Zoo, Skansen Foundation, Apenheul, Noorder Dierenpark, Rotterdam, Jersey, Branfere, Dudley and many other zoos for their assistance and help in realising this major exhibition in Riga Zoo. Photos: Maris Lielkalns/Riga Zoo EAZA News 43 – 2003 23 July - August - September
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Page 5 and 6: From the EAZA Office Additional fun
Page 7 and 8: Amur tiger © David Higgs Exciting
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Page 17 and 18: ZÜRICH - SWITZERLAND A female two-
Page 19 and 20: ‘Abu’, the elephant born after
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Page 25 and 26: oThe Tiger Kingdom in Kristiansand
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Page 32 and 33: Mazuri Zoo Foods closer to reality
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